Bath or basin outlet-valve mechanism



Nov, l, 192.7. l

, L. W. MUELLER ET AL BATH o BAS/1N OUTLET VALVE MECHANISM Filed Oct. 24, 1925 Patented Nov. 1, 1927.

- UNITEDSTATES 1,647,188 PATENT/OFFICE."

LUGIEN W. MUELLER AND ROBERT H. MUELLER, OF vDECATU'R, ILLINOIS,`AS`SIGNORS TO ADOLPH MUELLER, TRUSTEE, OF DECATUR, ILLINOIS.

BATH on BASIN oU'rLErvaLvn MECHANISM. 7

,Application led October 24, 11925j i Serial No. 64,570. 5"

' Thepresent invention relates to improvements in outlet vaflve mechanisms for lavatories, bath tubs etc., of the type which are commonly termed pop-up drains.

Among the objects ofthe invention it may be noted that the construction hereinafterl described provides a simple means by whlch the plumbenor other person familiar with the construction, mayjreadily disconnect the c outlet plug per se from the actuating devices,

but unless 'one has knowledge of the exact construction, it is difficult to Vdisconnect these parts, and thus theft of the plugls prevented.` Y

. A further object of the invention is to provide avery simple and readily operable means by which the valve plug will be automatically retained inveither its open or closed position. 'Y Y In the accompanying drawing Figure 1 is a vertical section through a portion, of a fixture provided with a. waste outlet mechanism constructed in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 2 is a sectional detail, illustrating a slight modification of a part of the structure of Figure 1. Y

Figure 3 is a plan of the parts shown 1n Figure 2. y

- 1nl the drawingl designates thebody of the basin, which, as shown, has a waste outlet 2 in its bottom that communicates with. a suitable waste pipe 3; x

Thegvalve mechanism controlling the outlet 2 comprises a tubularvalve having'an enlarged head L adapted to be seated in a seat 6 formed at the upper end of a tube 7 which is an extension of a. fitting 8, having also `a lateral extension 9'. Thelower end of the body of the fitting 8 communicates with the waste .discharge pipe Snand the section 7 whichispr'ovided at its upper end with the valve seat 6 is shown as' being externally threadedfandv screwed into the body of the fitting.` Near'its Yupper end the member 7 is provided with lateral inlets which com'- municatenwith a passage 1a formed in'the wal'l of the tub or' basin, andcommunicating with overflow apertures 1b in the usual man.-y

ner. Y i Y The tubular Tvalve 5 is provi'dedvwith lat-V eral A portsor openings 10'in the usual manner, and said valve is adapted to be verticallyreciprocated in lthe vextension member 7 of the r fitting by a lever 'mechanism that will be hereinafter more particularly described. I

The member 7 is shown as being held close against the body of the tub'or basin 1 by a suitable nut washer 11 engaging'the external Vthread and a gasket 12 is interposed between' said washer and the-body of the basin or tub;

VIt will be understood that many of the parts herein referred to are shown more or less diagrammatically, and that there may, of course, be considerable variationfrom the exact' details-or proportions of parts' shown without departing from the invention. The latter relates more particularly to the actuating devices, which will be hereinafter'de# scribed, for reciprocating the valve 5 andthe latter as well asthe valve seat means cooperating therewithmay be of any suitable style. y Y y f Reciprocating movement is impartedto the valve 5 by a lever which extends through the lateral extension 9 of the fitting before referred to and is shown as provided with an enlargement 15 that cooperates with a packing body 16 within said enlargement so that the lever is free to move in any direction. The inner end of the lever 17 extends through. an aperture formed in the side wall of the tubular valve y5, and as the lever is rocked said valve will be moved from the open position shown into the lower position in vwhich the enlarged head'thereof will be closely seated `in the valve seat 6 and escape` of water through the outlet Q-,prevented As shown, the koperating lever comprises the portion just described and a rodslike member 18, which has one-end'inserted in a suitable socket inthe enlargedfportion l15, the two members being connected by a pin 19. Mounted en the member 18 of the lever is a sliding sleeve 20 having a slightly enlarged head which cooperates with an abutment supported by the member 9 of the main fitting. As shown in Figure 1, this abut, ment 21 is formed on the inner surface ofthe outer head of a cap 22, the Vbase Aof which bears against the itting'member 9 Vand is secured thereto by a coupling sleeve23. The lever member 18; v extends throughasslot in the head of said cap-like member andthe abutment 21 is provided onfbothvsides of stantly hold said sleeve in contact with the abutment 21, but permitting it to yield and move slightly longitudinally of the lever as the latter is rocked from the position shown in the drawings to that indicated by the dotted lines which it assumes when the valve is closed, as above described.

It will be seen that as the enlarged head 20 of the sleeve on thelever is moved past the abutment surface 21 in rocking the lever about its fulcrum said spring will be placed under compression, and as the lever approaches the limit of its movement in either direction the yexpanding of the spring will accelerate such movement and tend 'to positively complete the shitting movement. Also, the spring acts as a lock to retain the parts in either the position shown in the drawing, or in the opposite position in which the valve is closed.

lnstead of Jforming the abutment 21 as a integral part ot the' cap 22, as illustrated in Figure 1 and above described, the construction shown in Figures 2 and 3 may beV employed.

.in this embodiment of the invention outwardly projecting ears 40 are provided on the. end wall of the casing 22 at opposite vsides of the slot in said wall through which the lever member 18 extends. Roller disks 41 are rotatably supported on pins projecting laterally fram the inner faces of the ears 40, the peripheries oi said rollers extending into the atoresaid slot in the end wall or' casingl 22 and abutting the head 20 on the lever member 18.

lilith this arrangement the disks 41 constitute the abutment which coacts with the spring pressed sliding head 2O to lock the actuating lever in either its upper or lower position.

As the lever is shifted from one position to the other the disks 41 will be rotatedslightly and thereby there will be less wear on the contacting parts than with the construction of Figure 1 in which the abutment 21 is a rigid, unyielding, element.

Movement of the actuating lever is effected by a push rod comprising two members,rthe inner onel 30 having at one eind an eye through which the lever member'13 projects, and having its other end formed as a. fork between the members of which is arranged a coupling collar 31. rlhe outer member or section 32 of thepush rod has its stem extending through suitable eyes inthe members of the fork ot the inner section 30, and also through the collar 31, which is held in position at any desired point in thele'ngth of said member 32 by a set screw 33.' By means ot the set screw 33 theeiiective length of the push rod for actuating the valve'lever may beva-ried to accommodate the improvement to ixtures of diierentdimensions.

The outer section'32 ofthe" push rod extends through a itting that is secured to the slab or rim 1c of the tub or basin, and at its outer Yend is, as usual, provided with a knob or handle 34. A

As shown the armsrof the fork at lthe upper end ot' push rod member 30 are of greater length than the diameter of the collar 31. Therefore, the push rod member 32 may be freely rotated relative to the member 30.

vbody 35 that extends through a suitable passage in the support- 1c and is rigidly secured in position. As shown, the engagement between said member 35 and th-e relatively stationary support is eiiected byl a washer 36 which is pressed upward by a suitable nut 37 and is also Vprovided with a plurality of set screws 38, which project through the washer 33 and bear close against the underside ot the support 1c. Y

As usual, the member 35 is provided with means for engaging the body of the support 1c and the portion of the push r-od at the outer end of said guide is surrounded by an escutcheon 39, which is commonly made of vitreous material; Y

Means are preferably provided whereby movement of the push rod to open the valve will be limited so that there will be no danger or the knob or handle 34 striking the vitreous escutcheon 39 and breaking it.

As shown, when the valve is fully open thepknob or handle 34 is situated some distanceabove the escutcheon 39, and the means by which the latter is retained inl position. Any suitable cooperating stops on the push rod andguide may be employed for this purpose. VFor example the construction disclosed and claimed in a companion application of Philip Mueller, Lucien W. Mueller and lVilliam J. vMix, Serial No. 64,571. V

It is believed that the operation and advantag'es or the improvements will be readily understood from thel foregoing description. 5' l AIt willbe seen that a slight downward movement of the push rod will initiate rocking movement ot the lever, and the latter will be assisted by the spring 24 which also serves in connection with thespring pressed sliding head orfsleeve 2O and coacting abutment to effectually lock the parts with lthe valve in' either open or closed position.

In case it is desired to remove ,the valve 5., Y

it? is'only necessary'to effect a pull on the lever member 18 in the direction of its length suiicient tol withdraw the end. 17 from the aperture in the valve body 5. The spring 24 readily permits of this movement and acts to restore the parts to normal position when pull on the member 18k is released. Persons unacquainted with the exact construction will, however, find it quite diiicult to detach the valve from its actuating devices, and, therefore, the theft of the valve plugs, which is a rather common occurrence in fixtures employed in public places will be prevented. It is evident that no amount of pull on the valve itselfwill act to disconnect it from the lever and the only way in which such disconnection can be eifected is by movement of the lever yin the direction of its length as above described.

I/Ve claim Y l. Ina waste outlet fitting, the combination of a valvev seat, a valve extending through the seat and provided with a head adapted to cooperate with .the seat, means for reciprocating the valve to carry the head thereof from or into contact with the seat including a lever detachably connected with the valve, a spring acting to maintain the lever in engagement with the valve and to permit disengagement thereof by movement of the lever in the direction yof its length,

and means cooperating with said spring for retaining the valve in either open or closed position.

2. In a waste outlet fitting, the combination of a valve seat, a valve extending through the seat and provided with a head adapted to cooperate with the seat, means for reciprocating the valve to vcarry the head thereof from or into contactwith the seatl 8. In a waste outlet fitting, the combina-YV tion of a pop-up drain valve and a lever for actuating the same, of a push rod member engaging the valve actuating lever at one end and provided at its other end with a lateral fork, a second member extending freely through aligned openings in the arms of vsaid fork and having a handle or knob secured to its other end by a threaded connection, and a collar adjustably secured to said second member and positioned between the arms of the fork in the lever engaging member.

4. In a waste outlet fitting, the combination with a valve seat, and a valve having a stem extending through said seat and a head adapted to cooperate with the seat, of means for reciprocating` the valve to carry the valve head from orinto contact with the seat including a lever engaging the valve stem, and means for retaining the valve'in position to lock the valve at the limit of its movement in either direction comprising a member mounted on the lever and a pivotally mounted abutment extending into the path of movement of; said member.

5. In a waste outlet fitting, the combination with a valve seat, and a valve having a stem extending through said seat and a` head adapted to cooperate with the seat, of means for reciprocating the valve to carry the valve head from or into contact with the seat including a lever engaging the valve stem, and means for retaining the valve in position to lock the valve at the limit of its movement in either direction comprising a member mounted on the lever anda rotatable abutment extending into the path of movement of said member.

6. In a waste outlet fitting, the combination with a valve seat, and a valve having a stem extending through said seat and a head adapted to cooperate with the seat, of means for reciprocating the valve to carrythe valve head from or into contact with the seat 1ncluding a lever engaging the valve stem, and means for retaining the valve in position to lock the valve at the limit of its movement in eitherdirection comprising a member mountedon the lever and two rotatable abutment Vdisks positioned at opposite sides of said lever and having'ftheir peripheries extending into the path of movement of said member. v c l In testimony `whereof we have hereunto set our` hands.

LUoinN w. MUELLER. lROBERT H. MUELLER. Y 

